1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to the field of truck accessories by providing a convenient means for enclosing and extending the tailgate of a pick-up truck with a secondary function of converting into multi-purpose work platform.
2. Description of the Related Art
Truck bed extenders, in particular, truck bed extenders for pick-up trucks have been developed primarily to increase the usable length of the truck bed when the tailgate of said pick-up truck is lowered in an extended position. The popularity of conventional truck bed extenders exist in which components are comprised of adjustable round tubes with telescoping sections, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,994,389 to Graffy, et al., and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,700,047 to Leitner, et al. With respect to many such devices, one of the problems that exist with previous truck bed extenders is the occurrence of items that are either improperly secured or that become subject to severe road conditions and have the potential risk of falling between such tubes, thus creating a safety hazard for other vehicles as well as loss of cargo. The same disadvantage applies to other conventional devices that consist of a cargo such as the truck bed partition to U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,913 A to Metivier and a cargo cage to U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,480 to Bryan. While such devices may have been developed to increase the capacity of transporting cargo while minimizing the risk of the aforementioned road hazards while in transport, the present truck bed extender, having a solid construction without any visible gaps when mounted, includes a secondary hinged rectangular cover panel that is mounted to the edge of the tailgate between said tailgate and the end of the truck bed, thus slightly overlapping the gap between the truck bed and the tailgate when said tailgate is extended, providing adequate cover for the tailgate gap.
As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,472,639 to Bianchi, a solid rectangular back panel with two corresponding panels are adjoined by respective hinges with the capability of being pivotally rotated to a closed folded position against the inside wall of the tailgate without limiting cargo space. Yet another aspect of the present truck bed extender is to provide a secondary optional function of a convenient sturdy rectangular multi-use work platform when the vehicle is not in transport, in particular, when in use at locations where a work platform is necessary, such as at a construction site. The implementation of gauges, preferably an angle gauge and a carpenter's square with ruler, are embedded into the back rectangular panel to provide added function to the user.
Although combining functions for convenience has been implemented in present truck bed extenders with respect to U.S. Patent No. U.S. Pat. No. 6,764,121 to Bauer whose bed extender additionally functions as a foldable ramp, and again to U.S. Pat. No. 5,700,047 to Leitner whose bed extender additionally functions as a storage compartment, the preferred embodiment has the advantage of providing a multi-purpose accessible work platform for standing work with means for measuring items, eliminating the need to transport an additional workbench and the measuring gauges of the same purpose.